Chris Borland: More players may choose early retirement

Chris Borland sent waves throughout the football world when he retired after just one NFL season, citing concerns over his long-term health.

Now, following an offseason in which several big-name players decided to retire at age 30 or younger - including Calvin Johnson, Jerod Mayo, and Marshawn Lynch - the 25-year-old Borland believes more players will opt for early retirement in order to help avoid health complications later in life.

"Well, I think an old adage is that you play till the wheels fall off," Borland said, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. "You play till you can’t anymore. You have to be carried off the field. I think that’ll change.

"I think historically, Jim Brown and Barry Sanders are viewed as early retirements. I think whenever a guy decides to walk away is when he and his family decides he’s not going to play a game anymore. And even if you play for 20 years and are a Hall-of-Famer, you still have a life to live after football. So I think that’s always been a cliche, but that's starting to get real, tangible results."

Borland appeared set for long NFL career after an impressive rookie season, but with growing concerns over chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), he decided give up playing football after researching the long-term effects the sport could have on his brain.

Former New York Giants safety Tyler Sash, who overdosed on painkillers at age 27 in September, was diagnosed with CTE postmortem. The startling realization that players as young as Sash could be affected apparently pushed Bortland to his decision to leave football behind.

"To see a guy who’s probably taken less hits to the head than me to have a stage of CTE similar to Junior Seau was eye-opening," Borland said.

Bortland said banning football isn't a realistic option, but believes further steps should be taken to protect players, especially at a young age.

"It makes no sense to me that in the pros you hit 14 times a year once the season starts but in high school we hit three times a week, in college we hit three times a week," he said. "I think kids should hit less than the pros if they’re playing football. I think that’s a good step."

He added: "It could be the greatest game in the world, but simultaneously maybe the worst. And the crux of the issue for me, I think, is that what makes it so great is also what makes it detrimental and scary and everything, the violence. So I don’t regret my decision. Miss the game, but that time was going to come at a certain point anyway, so moved on with my life."